‘We’re so proud’: Story behind promoted FC Peterborough as first team reach semi-pro league

A football club, which was founded so that four lads could enjoy a kickabout, has made its debut playing at semi-professional level.

F.C. Peterborough, who play at Millfield Autoparts Arena on Chestnut Avenue, kicked off their first game in the First Division North (Eastern Counties League) on Saturday July 29 with a 2-1 home defeat to Great Yarmouth.

Reserve team manager, Arslan Ali told the Peterborough Telegraph that playing at semi-pro standard is “a completely different level.”

The former player admitted that “the biggest eye-opener” was “the actual crowd itself,” which estimates put at more than 150 fans.

“Those are numbers we’re not used to,” Arslan observed, “we tend to get around 20-30 fans in total.”

“They (Great Yarmouth fans) had drummers and their own scarves - it was a proper atmosphere in there.”

Dad-of-three Arslan says F.C. Peterborough has come a long way in a relatively brief time.

“We are so proud of what we’ve achieved in such a short amount of time.”

“It all started when four of us sat down eight or nine years ago and said ‘okay, let’s make an adults’ team.”

Since then, the team has worked its way up through the ranks of the Peterborough League. Starting in lowly Division 5, F.C Peterborough won promotion a stunning six times in eight years.

“Last season we played in the Prem (Peterborough Premier League) - which is the highest level you can play at grass-roots amateur level - and we finished fifth.”

This top six-finish gave the club the option of making the step up to semi-pro, something Arslan and his clubmates embraced with gusto.

“If we look back and compare where we are now to where we were then - we’re so proud of what we’ve achieved,” Arslan says.

Arslan, who is the club’s all-time leading goalscorer, hung up his boots at the end of last season.

As well as being the reserve team manager, the 35-year-old is also a club committee member and events organiser.

He is optimistic about where the club goes from here:

“We’ve got three adult teams and eight academy teams with 250 kids. The club itself has around 300 registered members.

“Our goal is for the first team to be playing at the very highest level that it can, and to build up our academy and develop our kids in the academy so that they can play at any level when they reach adult age.

“We’re going from strength to strength.”

As important as it is, football isn’t F.C. Peterborough’s only priority:

“We’re a community club - everything we do is for the community.”

“We want to be giving opportunities to kids to play football and get them off the streets, get them off their iPads and PlayStations.”

“We want to engage the community like we did in yesterday’s Fun Day. We’re also looking to do summer camps in the school holidays.”

Dogsthorpe-based Arslan is proud of the fact the club is made up of players from a wide array of backgrounds.

“We have over 20 different nationalities registered with us,” he said: “We’re a very diverse club.”

“Our doors are always open for everybody.”